The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Davey knew that the real Eclipse's mana would undoubtedly be helpful for him in the future. For now, he could use it to stabilize his power, but he knew it had the potential to be useful for other things as well.

“Ugh?!”

Eclipse let out a gasp—a mix of shock and bewilderment—as she felt the unfamiliar power. In an instant, her mana began to run wild, reacting to Davey’s Predatory Assimilation as it consumed her energy and integrated it for him.

Eclipse tried to subdue him with an attitude that screamed, “How dare you try to overpower me?” But the powers Davey had already transformed within himself welcomed Eclipse’s mana without hesitation.

‘Here goes nothing,’ Davey snickered.

Zzzt!!

Eclipse’s mana rumbled violently within Davey, but it was quickly subdued as it began to blend with the pure, untainted ‘Eclipse’ mana he had already consumed in this space. The real Eclipse’s mana had been partially tainted by Thanatos's influence. On the other hand, the power of ‘Eclipse’ that Davey possessed was the one Hercules remembered—her pure, untouched power. The collision of these two forces created a violent, volatile reaction.

The two jumbled together chaotically. The mana that had just been absorbed tried to retreat from Davey, almost as if it sensed danger.

‘You’re not getting away without my permission.’

A terrible sound echoed as Davey fully consumed and converted her mana. He then pressed down on her with overwhelming force before using Dragontongue once more.

[Absolute Dragontongue]

[Death]

Thud!!

The intangible energy he unleashed in an instant impacted her body, causing her to twitch violently like a fresh fish out of water. She gritted her teeth, trying to resist.

“Da…vey…”

Grit…

She ground her teeth so hard it seemed they might break, and an incredible amount of power gathered in her slitted eyes. Normally, Davey wouldn’t be able to feel the surge of energy, but his enhanced self was all too aware of it.

Snap!

After he snapped his fingers, the air around them was momentarily cut off, creating a vacuum.

[---!!!]

Although he didn’t get affected by the Fear, he could feel the sheer force of it, making his entire body tingle. It was something that ordinary beings would not be able to withstand, instead dying instantly. The Dragon Fear of an ancient dragon, on a completely different level from that of an ordinary dragon, reverberated throughout the entire space Davey had created.

Thud!!

Eclipse lashed out with her small foot, striking Davey in the abdomen and sending him flying. Instead of trying to resist, he leaned into the hit and used the momentum to put some distance between them.

“Davey… You’ve gotten stronger. You now are someone that I have to play with seriously,” she said with a complicated face.

“Can you really have fun with me, Eclipse?” Davey responded back.

Even though she was still in a state of madness, Davey was now certain that her original personality hadn’t completely disappeared judging from the way she reacted. A purely insane person wouldn’t be able to show such conflicted emotions.

Suddenly, she pulled out the small dagger in her shoulder and crushed it in her hands.

"It hurts….”

“What’s an immortal veiled with blessings whining about?”

Davey had no idea how Thanatos had managed to inject immense power directly into Eclipse. If Thanatos had only used fragments on her, Eclipse should’ve only been about as strong as Perserque.

But she was different. There was something unique about Thanatos, something that allowed her to bypass the rules and avoid interference from other gods.

However, what mattered most to Davey was that this was the perfect opportunity to test just how much power he could wield against her.

“Davey,” she whispered, her head bowed. She then flicked her hand.

Crack!

The space at the end of her fingertips shattered, and a golden marble emerged.

“Play seriously… with Eclipse” she commanded. She swallowed the bead with her unique smiley face and then a massive surge of mana erupted from her body.

“Play tag… with Eclipse!!”

“Alright then. Let’s see if you can catch me,” Davey replied while laughing. She also smiled brightly at his challenge and took a small, deliberate step forward.

Thud!!

At that moment, a tremendous explosion of energy turned the entire area into a hellscape. The void behind her tore apart, revealing two massive dragon paws coming straight toward Davey.

Bang!!

Davey dodged one, but met the other head-on. His past self wouldn’t have been able to withstand her attacks, but he could now hold his ground.

[Buff Magic]

[Strength]

He strengthened his muscles with a simple buff magic combined with holy power and amplified by Predatory Assimilation. It was no longer a simple strength magic.

Thud!!

He was capable of deflecting her attacks now.

“Hmph?!”

Davey met the dragon’s paw with his own strength, sending shockwaves through the area. The ground beneath him cracked, but he stood firm.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Davey taunted.

Eclipse was taken aback as if she didn't expect Davey to directly deflect her attack. In her moment of surprise, he closed the distance between them and extended his hand. Though she swiftly blocked the unexpected counterattack, he managed to strike her pressure points as she tried to fend him away..

"Ugh?!"

In an instant, she staggered as her pressure points were blocked, creating a clear opening. However, her natural defense surrounding her body was still holding firmly.

Thud, boom!!

‘Even if her defense is strong, there’s still a way to break through,’ he thought as he summoned a sledgehammer in his hand.

He swiftly swung it down toward her body. It was blocked by an invisible barrier, but he knew it had done some damage.

Boom! Boom!!

After the second and third strikes, her eyes widened as the barrier protecting her shattered.

The hammer Davey wielded, Corona Destroyer, had a simple effect: it broke through an opponent's defense on the third hit. But its actual performance was far beyond what its mundane description implied.

"No!"

Eclipse hurriedly crossed her small arms to shield her abdomen, but Davey's fist was already on its way.

[Ylgr’s Penetration Strike]

[To the Core]

Boom!!!

Davey, who had changed so much in such a short time, sent Eclipse flying without even giving her a chance to retaliate.

***

Bang!! Bang!!

Davey could feel he had changed.

As Davey kept attacking, Eclipse was relentlessly pushed back. Even though it would appear he had the upper hand, he knew this advantage was temporary since Eclipse hadn’t fully manifested her power yet. He didn’t know why she wasn’t manifesting, but he knew the longer he dragged the fight, the worse things would be for him.

“Don’t you dare challenge me!!”

Suddenly, Davey heard Thanatos shout instead of Eclipse. She let out a distorted voice while radiating black energy, grabbing the energy sword in his hand. She snapped it in half with her bare hands, then drove her clawed arm toward his heart.

Grinnnd!!

But Davey caught her arm with his remaining hand, locking her in a fierce power struggle.

“How dare a mere human…!! A mere delegate stop me! This was supposed to be the era where I rise to power! The present world is mine, not Freyja’s!”

It was difficult to tell with any certainty what Eclipse’s current state was, but it was clear Thanato’s will was controlling her more than ever.

“Well, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna die for your ego.”

Shatter!

With the sound of something cracking, the space around his fist distorted and the sheath of Super Ribbon appeared. He quickly pulled out the sword and thrust it into Eclipse's heart just as she tried to pull away.

Zzzttt!!!

The space distorted, and the sword instantly weakened her power. But Davey didn’t expect her to die so easily. If it were that simple, all the suffering up to now would have been pointless. To begin with, he couldn’t cut through Thanato’s mysterious semi-immortal power with Super Ribbon, and neither could he with the power of taboo alone.

"Nice… Hehehe. Do you think I’m going to back off?! If I hold on to you, you’ll never be able to push me away. I’ll corrupt this place, grow stronger, and consume the world again!”

Despite her heart being pierced, she smiled grimly and screamed at Davey.

He then pointed behind him with his thumb. “You don’t think I know you’re immortal?”

"What?!"

“That’s why I prepared a gift for you in advance.”

Then Illyna, far behind him, created a massive mana typhoon, as if lightning had struck her entire body. The air vibrated and trembled along with the heavy sound of impact.

Davey felt a tingling sensation spread over his body. The fact that she had created something this overwhelming with her fighting spirit and mana gave him some indication of how much her mana had increased—precisely speaking, just how much mana she was able to take control of and utilize. She surely had the talents of a formidable monster.

If he could, Davey wanted to consume Illyna’s talent as well as Eclipse in front of them, but he knew he wasn’t yet strong enough to consume Eclipse.

Her disaster-like talent had grown immensely over the past five months. As she slowly got up, the Caldiras in her hands resonated powerfully, distorting space and time around her.

Davey knew it’d be best if they could divide up the roles. While he kept Eclipse subdued, she could cut off the source of Thanatos' power that allowed her to manifest. That was now her task.

"No!!"

Thanatos hurriedly took full control of Eclipse’s mind and waved her hand. Strange creatures then began emerging from the massive pillar of power stretching to the sky. Davey could tell she was trying to make them protect the massive pillar.

But Illyna, after breaking the earth beneath her, shot forward like a flash of light instead.

Slice!!

In an instant, instead of minding the monsters blocking the way, she cut through the space where the creatures were and approached her.

Slash!!

She even cut down the space where the massive pillar of power was.

“This isn’t your first time, isn’t it?”

Davey was referring to the brief moment of time when he was connected with Perserque at the time he had fallen into the Abyss to save her.

“How dare that bitch?!”

Thanatos panicked, with their energy becoming unstable. At the same time, Thanatos' spiritual body began to separate from Eclipse, causing her to fade as well. Due to Thanatos' intrusion, the space grew unstable and began to collapse. Just when Davey was about to move toward Illyna, who was falling from the sky…

Grasp!!

Eclipse grabbed Davey by the collar with her small hands.”

“E… clipse?”

“Listen carefully, there’s a being helping Thanatos. It's all thanks to that being that Thanatos can wield such power!”

Her voice was cold, and Davey could sense a difference from her usual tone.

“Don’t trust anyone. Remember my words,” she said. Her body then disappeared along with Thanatos, getting pulled back to the Abyss.

As Davey stared blankly at the collapsing space, he quickly caught Illyna in his arms.

“Boy oh boy, are my arms and legs sore.”

“Are you okay?”

“My body… It hurts…”

As Davey saw her complaining with a tearful face, he remembered what Eclipse had said before disappearing.

‘A traitor? Who could it be?’

But he had more pressing matters to deal with first.

[You should leave this place. It needs time to recover on its own.]

Sword God Ares spoke, then Illyna widened her eyes as she looked at him.

“Ancestor!”

[Everyone has their own role to play. Next time the space opens, someone else will welcome you two.]

A rift appeared under his feet, slowly pulling him in as he held onto Illyna.

[Davey.]

Ares looked at him and smiled slightly.

[You've done well. We’re always proud of you, our youngest.]

With those words, the world shattered and the surroundings changed.

‘Wait, no, hello? You were supposed to tell me what happened last night…’

Crack!

As Davey regained his balance, he spotted someone with familiar silver hair. He realized he was standing on the deck of the combat airship, Asgard—the epitome of his extravagantly wasteful hobby. The figure before him was dressed in an elegant black gown with her hair elegantly adorned by a long hairpin. Her clean appearance also looked practical, allowing her to move swiftly. She was also holding a small staff that he couldn't possibly even guess the composition of.

“Davey?” she asked, surprised, looking at Davey holding Illyna in his arms.

Davey knew he was mostly fine, except for some tears in his clothes. Illyna, however, had her clothes burned and tattered from destroying the pillar of power. It was only natural, considering she didn’t cast any protective magic or enchantments.

Perserque approached him slowly, as if she was no longer struggling from the aftermath of the hallucinations of Destruction.

“Davey,” she called softly.

Though he had a lot to explain to her, Davey found himself at a loss for words, his mouth dry. He hadn’t been able to organize his thoughts, and he also wasn’t expecting her to show up in front of him right away so soon.

"Thank goodness, you’re not hurt. I’m not sure why Illyna is here, but…”

Perserque smiled in relief as Davey and Illyna just blinked their eyes in silence.

Davey couldn't help but feel his heart ache. He felt a stab in his conscience as if a dagger was actually impaling it. If he had really done something reckless while drunk, he felt like the worst kind of son of a bitch for betraying her trust.